Back to Reality
by disneydork29175
Summary: When JoJo enters back into the real world, what's changed? How did his town react to his absence. How long was he gone? What about his parents and what happens to his Thinks? All are answered here, as JoJo is reminded reality isn't all it's made up to be.
1. Chapter 1

One by one, the animals danced out of existence, the sounds of Seuss softly disappearing. Soon, it was the two of them. Just a boy and a Cat. They exchanged a look, a smile. Then, simultaneously, they took off their hats. One tall with red and white stripes, one a normal baseball cap. Passing the hats to each other, they stuck it on their heads, like a symbol of accomplishment. The cat like man gave him a wink, before disappearing along with the music that was still playing.

And in the darkness, with the boy, only one word was heard.

"Seuss!"

And just like that, it was over.

The colors started seeping in around the boy, returning to the lifeless grey that he only faintly remembered from before. A soft snow fell around him, and instantly, he felt colder. No longer was he in that bright warm world of Seuss. No, he was back in reality, which was giving him a cold slap in the face for even daring to leave. Hugging his arms around himself, he started to walk again, trying to remember the way to somewhere, anywhere!

As he walked, he could still hear the distant sounds of music playing in his head. As much as he hated to admit it, he had a feeling that he would miss that world of his imagination. Even if it did nearly kill him… multiple times.

He heard soft impish laughter in his mind, and smiled. That's one thing that wouldn't leave him. The Cat, still up there in his mind causing trouble, and stirring up Thinks. The very same Thinks that had gotten him into this situation in the first place. The boy still couldn't believe that he had done all that, and thought all those Thinks. It amazed him, truly it did.

As he walked by a brick building, he suddenly stopped, looking up at it. He remembered this! This was his old school! Looking up at the clock that was outside it, he saw that it had gotten out nearly 15 minutes ago. It wasn't completely deserted, but there were only a few teachers, and no one that he recognized. Not one person looked his way either. He sighed. He was alone, again. It was really just like when he first left this world.

As he turned to start walking home, he heard someone call out. "Hey, are you alright?" the boy turned his head to see a girl about his age running towards him. She stopped a few feet in front of him. "You must be freezing!"

The boy nodded, and the girl took his hand. "Come on now, let's get you out of this weather." She looked him over again and shook her head. "Why on earth are you wearing a tee shirt and shorts in _January_ of all times?" Interrupting his nonexistent answer, she pushed forward. "Well, no worries. My mom's a nurse, she'll know what to do." The boy didn't know what to say, but really didn't have to say anything, as the girl pulled him along the way, up the steps. The boy tried to keep up while also taking the hat off (a rule that he remembered from school), and managed with some effort.

As they went through the twists and turns of the school's halls, the girl started talking again. "So, where ya from? I only moved here about a year ago, and I haven't seen you around."

A year? The boy stopped in his tracks. No, no. He couldn't have been gone for more than two hours! Where did this whole "year" thing come from?

And wasn't it December when he was last in reality?

"Hey…" the girl said uncertainly. "Are you alright? You don't look too well."

"A… a year?" the boy squeaked.

The girl nodded. "Yeah… a year." She shook her head. "The town was in the middle of some investigation. Some boy had randomly gone missing and no one could find him. Like 6 months ago, they closed the investigation. Everyone thinks he's dead, or abducted, or something."

The boy leaned against the wall, not trusting his legs to support him. "Dead?" he asked in a hushed tone of voice. "They think I'm dead?"

"That's what they assume." The girl said, not hearing the "I'm" in his sentence. "What was his name again?" there was a pause, and the boy willed his name not to escape the girls lips.

"Oh! It was JoJo!"

The boy's breath caught in his throat. _They… they think I'm dead. Everyone! My teachers, my friends, my parents-_

_My parents._

He looked to the girl, visibly paler than when he first came into the school. "Do you know where m… _his_ parents are?"

The girl shook her head instinctively, but paused again. "I… I think they moved. They couldn't stand the town anymore."

The boy groaned, sliding down the wall, his legs having finally failed him. The girl moved to catch him, but she ended up coming down with him. There was silence between the two, as the boy tried to collect his thoughts, not even sure where to begin. The girl felt his forehead, and he flinched at her cold hands. Finally, he spoke.

"What's your name?" he asked softly.

"My name?" she repeated. "Well, I'm Allie. Allie Hugo."

The boy nodded. "Alright, Allie. Where's your mom?"

"The nurse's office." Allie said, looking slightly worried. "Why, what's wrong?"

"I need to get home." The boy said in a worried, borderline panicking tone. "I, I need to find my family. Th-they can't be gone!"

"You're family left without you?" Allie asked in a sad tone. The boy nodded, and she shook her head. "That's horrible."

"It's worse when you hear they did from somebody else." The boy muttered. Allie was about to ask what he meant by that, when he tried to stand. The girl quickly helped him up, and guided him to the nurse's office, where her mother was just getting her things together. Noticing the girl had returned, her mother started speaking. "Allie, I told you to wait in the car."

"Mom," Allie started, but the boy cut her off.

"Please, it's not her fault." He said. "It's mine. I need your help." The mother looked over to the boy, her eyes widening slightly. He continued talking. "I need to get home, and Allie said that you could help. Please." The boy pleaded, his voice catching. "I…" he didn't know what else to say.

Luckily, he didn't need to say anything else. The nurse nodded, understanding completely. "It's alright... I'll get you home."

* * *

><p>What is this? Where are we? TOTO?<p>

Hello people of the internet. It's Em, back with a new story. I don't have time to explain, but know that updates will come soon for ALL of my stories. I hope you like the idea of this, because I've been toying with it for a while. Tell me what you think, and wait for the updates for more information.

Peace, Love, and Seuss forever.  
>Em Cabot.<p>

P.S. Yes, I promise this will be updated


	2. Chapter 2

The nurse locked her office, and the three walked down to a dark green minivan. The boy nervously twirled the brim of the Hat in his hands, giving them something to do so he wouldn't freak out. Allie saw the hat in his hands, only noticing it now for some reason.

"That's a cool hat." She said with a smile. He looked up at her, not sure what to say. He wasn't sure if others could see it, but he was somewhat relieved when she acknowledged that she could.

"Thank you." The boy managed to say. He wanted to mention something, anything about how he got it, or who gave it to him, but he kept silent, worried about the two's reaction to it. They were already driving him home; he didn't need to give them any more reason to worry about him.

The ride was quick once the boy told the two where he lived (87 Mulberry Street). It was fairly silent as well, save for mother and daughter's "How was your day?" discussion. In no time at all, they pulled into the driveway. There were no lights on inside, he could already see that from the car.

Hopping out, the boy walked up the snow covered path to the house, peering inside. Right away, he realized that this was not the house he knew. The pictures were completely different from the ones that used to hang up there of his family. They were ones of a family, yes, but not _his_ family. Not the brown haired, brown eyed people that he grew up with. The memories from the walls were gone. Instead, they were replaced with a smiling, posing blond haired, blue eyed family of 5. All the pictures seemed to be looking at him, mocking him.

The boy staggered backwards, trying to catch his breath. Where was his family? Who were these strangers in his house? Why were they here? Suddenly, a bright light silhouetted his body. The boy turned to see a minivan pulling into the driveway.

_Run! Run you idiot, RUN!_

He couldn't run. He couldn't move! His feet were seemingly glued to the ground. He never took his eyes off of the van, and watched as three people got out. A father, and two kids, one boy and one girl got out, and saw him immediately.

"Dad, what's that kid doing on our doorstep?"

He took a step back, leaning on the door for support. His doorstep? Oh no, this is _his_ doorstep. This is his house... or... it was.

The boy locked eyes with the dad, looking for anything, _anything_ that would tell him where his parents are. But there was nothing. Only the cold, confused look that a young boy was on his doorstep. Still in a tee shirt and shorts. The dad shook his head, looking down at his son. "I don't know son. He must be looking for something."

The boy took a step towards them, all eyes on him. "Do..." words failed him momentarily. Then, mustering up some courage, he asked, "Who are you, and why are you at my house?"

The family stared, and the boy felt himself shrink slightly. He wasn't in his fantasy world anymore. He was just some kid, looking for a place he could belong. The daughter, who looked a bit younger than him, was the first to speak up. "_Your_ house?" she asked with overwhelming amounts of sarcasm. "This is _our_ house. What are _you_ doing here?"

_Wow, she sounds like Mayzie._ The Cat commented. A flicker of a smile came across the boy's face. When he looked at it that way, she wasn't so intimidating anymore. Like the Hunches. You just gotta look at them in a different light, and everything turns out alright. "I live here... my name is JoJo."

The adults gasped slightly, looking at each other before looking back to JoJo. "JoJo Santo?" the father asked. "The kid that went missing over a year ago?" JoJo nodded. "Your parents sold us this house!"

"Where are they?" JoJo asked, the scared, worried tone of a child creeping back into his voice. His moment of bravery was over. All he wanted to do was find his parents and get back to normal life.

_Ahem._

Normal life, save for his Thinks.

_Thank you._

The father of the family looked to Allie's mother, then started walking towards JoJo. "Here, come inside, I'll explain everything." JoJo hesitated at first, not sure if he could trust him. But then he figured, what more harm could he possibly do? He nodded at the man, following him and the two others inside. Allie looked to her mom, not sure what to do. Her mother reassured her though, that JoJo would be fine. They drove off, heading home after a long day.

As soon as JoJo walked through the door, he got an odd feeling of belonging and outsideness. Not everything was different, in fact, not much had changed at all. Just the pictures, the _pictures._ They were still mocking him, their eyes seemingly following his every move. He avoided their gaze, looking down at the hardwood floors. The two other kids walked past him, and dashed up the stairs, shouting at each other as they did. The father ignored it though, as he gazed at this helpless little boy. He knew the stories, he had read the papers. He had talked to his parents for Christ's sake! The parents had left because they didn't believe their son was coming back.

He cleared his throat, causing JoJo to look up. By god, how innocent he looked. It was as if he had just stepped out of a children's book. JoJo, meanwhile, was silently smiling. This man, this _father_ looked so much like General Schmitz. The concentrated, stern look, the straight posture, the serious air of a general; he had it all! It took a lot of willpower not to shutter, and a whole lot more not to laugh at the idea of General Schmitz being viewed as fatherly. Or, rather, the father that a child would want to have.

"JoJo." He started, his voice cracking slightly. JoJo's brow furrowed, and a knot started to form in his stomach. When adults' voices crack, you know that bad news is coming. He braced himself, trying to prep for anything that he could think of.

"Where are they?" JoJo asked again.

"Last I heard." The father said, biting his lip. "They were in California. They just moved there not a month ago." He looked at JoJo, softly whispering. "They gave up. They didn't think there was hope, so they just… gave up."

JoJo staggered backwards slightly, suddenly feeling dizzy. _They… gave up?_ "No…" he whispered, grasping for a chair or a wall or something, anything to get a grip on. He needed to know that he had a hold on something in his life. "No, no. You're… you're lying!"

There was a sad sort of pity in the father's eyes that twisted knots in JoJo's stomach. "JoJo-"

"They wouldn't give up on me!" he exclaimed. "They couldn't have! I'm their son! They can't give up on their son…" his voice had gone from a loud accusatory tone, to the whisper of a lost little boy. "They can't give up…" There was silence between the two, as JoJo fought back tears and tried to Think of a way out of this. Nothing was coming to mind though. Only to escape back into his Thinks, with Horton and Gertrude and his parents there that, sure betrayed him for a perfect son, but at least never gave up on him. The sound of breathing was the only noise in the room. The children that had previously gone upstairs were now sitting on the stairs, anxiously waiting what came next.

"There's more." The father whispered. He heard a sharp intake of breath, and debated whether he should tell this boy or not. Perhaps he should know what happened first… that would give him slightly more insight. "But, if you don't mind, could you tell me what happened?"

"No." JoJo answered immediately in a harsh tone. The father was rather taken aback by his tone, but nodded. He had figured his answer would be something like that. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's… fine."

JoJo looked up from the floor and stared straight at the father. He could barely see, his head was spinning so much. However, he could see well enough to see the shocked look in the dad's eyes. He knew this wasn't a look that his children would give to him, if he were lucky. Not the look of utter defeat. Not the look of a lost soul. No, this was a new experience for both of them. "I rather liked where I was." JoJo started, leaning against a wall, trying so hard to keep himself standing up. "It was nice, despite some minor things."

_Gee, thanks._

"Not you Cat…" JoJo murmured, avoiding the gaze of the father, who he could tell was looking strangely at him. "Just what you did."

"JoJo." The father said in a firm tone. "What, or who are you talking to?"

He shut his mouth, trying to hide his mistake. "He… it…" There was no way he would be able to get through this without sounding insane. "I… I don't know."

_Liar._

JoJo winced slightly. "I'm sorry…" he whispered, more in apology to his imagination than to the man. "I can't…"

_Sure ya can. Just say it. Ya already sound crazy enough!_

He had a point. Taking a deep breath, JoJo said in a rush, "I got carried away with my imagination, and created this… Think. This Think called the Cat. The Cat in the Hat, to be exact. And… he made me Think more, and more, until I had created this world of my imagination! There… I got put into it. After that, I sort of lost control, I didn't think that I could Think my way out, and then stuff happened, in the military, and I was there, but… I got out. And I saved it. I saved the Whos, and Horton wasn't condemned, and… then it was over."

The father gave him a blank look, one of confusion. JoJo could hear the kids giggling from the stairs. Then, the man groaned, rubbing his temples. "Kid… this isn't the time to fool around. Are you going to tell me what really happened, or not?"

"But that IS what happened!" JoJo exclaimed.

"The Cat in the Hat took you into your imagination?" The father yelled. "JoJo! That doesn't happen in reality!"

"Maybe not **your** reality." JoJo yelled back. "But it's _my_ reality!" the father got a little quiet after that, and so did JoJo. "It was my reality for a whole year…" he whispered. Then, an idea striking him, he pulled up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing a burn mark. "I got this when the landmine blew up. I didn't get hurt more than that, just a little bruised because it pushed me rather far, but that's there. It'll stay there, forever." He pulled the sleeve back down again, after the man looked at it. "Where in this town, or this state rather, is there _land mines?_"

The father didn't answer, his face pale white. JoJo looked to the stairs, where the kids had been. They were still there, but their eyes were wide and frightened. Seeing as he wasn't going to answer, JoJo kept talking. "I don't understand how it happened either. I was bored when I was walking home from school, and there was this red and white hat on the sidewalk. I walked over to it, and started thinking about who could own it, and then… he appeared. Then a musical number started… which was odd, because I've never been good at coming up with songs."

_It's because I had taken over at that time, obviously._

"Yeah, why would I ever think that I was in charge of something?" JoJo muttered jokingly back. He heard the Cat's impish laughter echo throughout his mind, and smiled. "He's still in there." JoJo explained, not even looking at the father now, who was secretly debating whether to call the state asylum or not. "In my mind. Just hanging out, causing trouble, distracting me from my school work. But… unless there's some way that you can into my mind, I doubt that you'll-"

JoJo stopped mid-sentence. Looking past the man, he saw a glimpse of red and a secret smirk. "No." he whispered.

"No?" The dad cut in. "What do you mean-"

JoJo pushed past him, running to see if it was true. It couldn't be! He had gone back into his mind like all the rest! Or, rather, he was in his mind while the rest simply vanished. HE'd already taken him on one little adventure, wasn't that enough? It couldn't be, it couldn't be!

And yet it was.

Standing there in the living room was a cat, six foot tall, directly resembling the one who had tormented him for the past year, only without his red and white hat. JoJo instinctively reached up on top of his head, feeling the stovepipe hat that resided there. The Cat looked at him, smirking. "It looks good on ya kid."

"What are you doing here?" JoJo asked, half panicked, half furious. "I just left!"

The Cat shrugged, in usual cat-like fashion. "I got bored, and you were tripping all over yourself to explain the unexplainable." The Cat glanced from the father to the kids, then back to JoJo. "Your parents are in Cali." He said, looking at his young victim. "They left here just last week, after living in an apartment for a month or so. They still miss you dearly, and they left earlier then they probably should have because your dad got transferred about a week after you "went missing". Now they live in La Jolla, and still miss you very much, but have again given up hope." The Cat looked outside the window at the snow swirling down. "Better head to the airport then, catch a ride to California."

JoJo just stared at the Cat. "How did you-"

"JoJo." He said, cocking an eyebrow. "Do you _really_ want to know?"

He was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No. Not really."

"Dad! The Cat in the Hat is in our house!"

JoJo looked back to see the kids running towards him. Gulping, he instinctively ducked down, and the Cat disappeared, leaving the kids to stumble over to nothing. The dad was still frozen, shocked. JoJo looked around, eying the door. There was nothing left for him here, how could he continue? His gaze traveled back to the father, who was still staring at him. "You… you saw him." He said, his voice quivering. "I-I'm not crazy!"

The father shook his head. "JoJo, you can't be serious. We saw nothing."

"But dad-" One of the kids piped up.

"_Nothing._"

JoJo backed up slightly. "No… no, you saw it! I know you did! You saw him, and so did they and…" he froze, looking around. A sudden realization came to his mind. _I can't win._ A shutter ran through his body, and he couldn't speak, not even to defend himself. So he did the only thing he could think of doing.

He ran.

Throwing open the door, he dashed out, ignoring the calls of the father to come back, ignoring the threats and worried cries of the kids, and just ran. He had brief flashbacks to his alternate reality, and wanted nothing more than to go back to that place. Even if it put his life in danger, it was better than being locked up. Not seeing his parents again. Everyone thinking he's crazy.

He belonged in that world.

JoJo didn't stop running until he reached a small park. He slowed down, leaning against the metal gates. "Let me go back." He begged, shaking his head. "Please… let me go back…"


	3. Chapter 3

JoJo collapsed to the ground, hiding his head. He tried so hard to hold back tears. This was pathetic. The world that he had come from was not safe! He had said over and over again how much he wanted to snap out of it... right?

But… things change. Somewhere along the path, something inside of the young Thinker switched. Some part of him actually started… enjoying it. After what he went through in the Military, the young boy found the darkness and quietness of the forest very peaceful. Even when the Cat came back… things weren't as bad as before.

But that… that was a war. He was in real and terrible danger. JoJo's hand went to the burn one his shoulder, touching it lightly. He had been hurt. He almost died. Surely this has to be better, right? He could go back to his family, school, make some new friends, and still have his Thinks.

Why wasn't he enjoying this?

As he hid his face, a small flash of light appeared next to him. The Cat frowned slightly at the young Thinker. To be honest, he felt a bit sorry for the kid. But only a bit. "JoJo."

"_What?_" JoJo asked, his one worded answer dripping with bitterness. "What do you want?"

The Cat raised an eyebrow, and looked up to the sky, where the snow was still falling. "I want to… help." The words tasted a bit strange in his mouth. He had always been helping the boy, but he had never really admitted it. To JoJo, or any of his other Thinkers. It wasn't… him. "I can't get you back to your parents, but I can help you find a place to stay."

"I just want to go back, Cat." The young boy said softly, his forehead touching the tops of his knees as he sat. "Can't you bring me back into the world? I don't even care if I've been through it already, or if I don't know where I'm going. I just… I need to go back."

The Think frowned again, and sat next to the boy. "I don't control that, kid. That's all you."

JoJo laughed harshly. "It was never all me." He said, looking to the Cat. "Remember? Resistance is futile and all that. That was you!"

"_You_ created _me,_" the Cat said. "I was made out of your little mind-brain, and then I became myself. You had to create me first, and create the world. I just took what you gave me and made it better."

"Then can I go back?" he asked softly. "Please… tell me how to get back to the world."

The creature was quiet for quite some time before he finally stood. "Welp, let's just try." he pulled the boy up, leading him into the park. "Now… Think. Think of the most wonderful place in that world that you made."

JoJo closed his eyes, his mind already starting to form the colorful world he had known for so long. The Cat continued. "The best possible anything about it. Think of a person, a place, a thing. Anything works… but a place would work best… now think of yourself there." The boy did as he was told, smiling when he saw Horton and the warmth of the jungle started to reach him.

He sighed happily, and opened his eyes. The grey barren park was the first thing to meet his eyes, the Cat's black and white fur being the second. The boy took a step back. "I… but I did it." He said softly. "I did what you told me. I thought of Horton and the jungle, and… why didn't it work?"

The Cat shook his head. "That's for me to know and you to find out!" he said with an impish grin, promptly disappearing.

"Wha- Cat!" he yelled at the empty space. "Come back! You said you wanted to help!"

As he yelled, a couple appeared behind him, walking through the lightly falling snow. Both looked to be about 32-35, and had the peaceful look of a couple with no children and not a care in the world. The woman stopped when she saw JoJo. "Oh my…" she murmured.

"Come back!" JoJo yelled, his voice breaking. "Please! I need you! I need help…" he looked to the ground again. "Please…" he murmured softly, starting to sway back and forth.

The woman broke away from her partner, running over to the boy. "Hey, hey… everything gonna be alright." She steadied him, her hands on his shoulder. "Don't you worry. You'll be fine." The man had joined her at this point, and JoJo, lulled by her voice, put up no fight. "Do you have a place to stay?" she asked softly, kneeling in front of him so they were at eye level with each other.

The boy shook his head, and the man placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can stay with us." He offered. "It's completely safe, I promise. Much better than staying in a park."

JoJo nodded, looking the two of them over. The woman had curly light brown hair, almost a sandy color. She was about average in everything. Her skin was pale, her eyes were brown, she had some freckles… but nothing out of the ordinary. She wore clothes with blue and purple tones. The man, on the other hand, was tall and a bit chubby. He wore mostly grey, with a bit of red, and had dark brown hair and blue eyes. He took off his jacket, handing it to the boy. "Here, put that on." He ordered, but in a nice way. "We don't want you to catch a cold."

"Who…" JoJo shook his head, trying to clear his mind. "Who are you?"

"My name is Henry." The man said. "This is Greta, my wife."

"We'll take you home." Greta decided, standing up. "Oh my, you look like you've been through an awful lot. We have a wonderful guest bed, you need to rest. Take a nap."

"Greta," Henry warned. "Don't take him too much under your wing. This is only if he wants, and only until he's ready to leave."

"I want…" the young man started to say. "I want to go… with you." He trusted them, for some strange reason. Perhaps it was the evenness of their voice, or the odd resemblance to Horton and Gertrude… which was ridiculous, because Horton and Gertrude were animals, and these were real life actual people.

"Then come on." Greta said, standing up. "We'll take you home. It's not that far from here." JoJo nodded blankly, following the two out of the park.

* * *

><p><em>Wow, let's see how long the next update takes.<em>

_So I figured out that I really really like the story line for this and that I'm going to try and continue it. I'm still trying to decide what direction I want to take the story in, and this was pretty much pure filler. So bear with me while I decide that. Or don't. I guess._

_See you in the next update._

- _Em_


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